


The House on Brighton

by Stralia_Harker



Series: The House On.. Series [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22729975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stralia_Harker/pseuds/Stralia_Harker
Summary: Susan thinks about the life she's made for her and Max.
Series: The House On.. Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632169
Kudos: 16





	The House on Brighton

Susan fussed with cushions on the couch. She’d just got done vacuuming and wanted to straighten up as much as she could. Steve was bringing Max home today. She’d spent two weeks in Hawkins and then two weeks with Steve in Florida and Louisiana. Susan had spent the entire time working overtime and extra shifts, not that she really needed it. Neil had never taken her of his benefits, she received a small insurance payout. It didn’t make them rich but it helped out. It was the least he could have done. 

Once she was satisfied that the living room was in order she moved onto Max’s room. She put the little “welcome home” basket she made on the bed. It had Max’s favorite snacks, a few stickers and a new jacket. She wanted to get her some things for her skateboard but she wasn’t sure what to get, she’d just take Max and let her pick. Susan smiled, knowing she could do that, not only financially, but in general. Neil always made a big deal about Max needing to be more of a girl, thought she needed to give up skateboarding. 

She’d managed to do well for them. They had left Hawkins about six months after Billy disappeared, returning to California. She was able to get a job at her old company and they welcomed her with open arms. Max’s old friends were excited to see her, it helped ease the transitions. She found a small two bedroom house and she put everything into making it her and Max’s space. The home was cozy and warm. It was inviting. Susan was pleased when Max invited her friends, she saw how much easier it was for Max. 

She was able to get Max her own phone line, with the understanding that if she ran the long distance bill too high the phone would have to go. So far Max had been good, she had a weekly call to Hawkins where all the kids would gather round. She got a call from Louisiana once a month, but that didn’t affect her bill. If Neil had been here Max would’ve been lucky to use the phone once a week, forget about getting her own line.

It wasn’t until she was here in this place, on her own, that she realized how much she had given up. Little things that people took for granted, like being able to use the phone, what she made for dinner, Max being able to dress how she liked without commentary. She hadn’t realized she too lived in fear with Neil, thought it was only Billy. It had happened so gradually that she didn’t see it til she left. The way Neil manipulated, they all walked on eggshells and she had finally understood why Billy thought no one would believe them. Neil was good, so good she had put the most important person in her life in his home. So good she thought she had time to get Billy out. 

That was her biggest regret in all of this, she hadn’t insisted he come with her. She didn’t think she had the right, and not long after she and Max left Billy disappeared for 17 days. Neil spun some story about family here in California, but as far as she knew there was no one. If only she’d had just a little more time, she’d have been able to get him away from Neil. No child should have to go through what he went through. Neil was too blinded by his frustration and anger at Billy to understand that Neil had made him the way he was, and she knew Neil had somehow broken him as well. 

She had started the process of getting custody, had gotten pretty far actually, her lawyer had managed to get his medical records. She was just trying to save money so she could get a place with three bedrooms, but he went missing before she could do it. So she and Max told the police everything they knew, Susan laid out her suspicions and like the rest of the town she believed that Neil had killed Billy. If he had left he would’ve at the very least taken his clothing but she couldn’t see him going anywhere without the camaro. The car was his pride and joy. 

When they called to tell her Neil had died she calmly and politely told them she wouldn’t be claiming the body, A few days later Hopper called to let her know they’d found some of Neil’s papers, life insurance and whatnot. She sent enough to have him buried and Hopper asked what he should do with the camaro. Susan was shocked Neil still had it, Hopper told her Billy’s room was still the same, Neil hadn’t touched it either. She asked Hopper to keep the camaro, until she figured out what to do with it. 

That all seemed a lifetime away, she’d come here and found her place, her own way. She saw how much she had made herself believe she couldn’t do it alone. But here she was, providing for herself and Max. She was showing her daughter how to persevere, to make her own way. She felt like now she was finally someone Max could look up to, someone she could be proud of. Here in this small house on Brighton, she and Max were finally living. She smiled at the thought as she heard the sound of car doors shutting. Glancing once more around the house, she headed to the door ready to greet them and catch up.


End file.
